The Australian Cross Country Skiing Team has returned to competition a week after the 2025 World Championships, remaining in Norway for a World Cup in Oslo.
 
Phoebe Cridland was the best place finisher for Australia in a personal best placing of 41st in the women’s 20km Interval Start Classic.
 
See below results summary
 
The next World Cup will take place in Tallinn, Estonia, with a city spring race on March 19.
 
Women's 20km Interval Start Classic
41st Phoebe Cridland
46th Rosie Fordham
 
Men's 20km Interval Start Classic
63rd Seve De Campo
66th Phillip Bellingham
68th Bentley Walker-Broose
74th Fedele De Campo
 
Women’s 10km Interval Start Free
45th Rosie Fordham
51st Phoebe Cridland
 
Men’s 10km Interval Start Free
68th Seve De Campo
69th Lars Young Vik
71st Phillip Bellingham
78th Bentley Walker-Broose

It’s been a highly successful World championships for the Australian Cross Country Ski Team in Trondheim, Norway, where Australians skied to best ever individual and team result performances at the World Championship level.
 
Competing in front of fanatical Norwegian crowds of up to 100,000 spectators, the locals were ecstatic to witness hometown superstar Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo win an incredible six gold medals from six events.
 
Rosie Fordham claimed a 20th place finish in the women’s 50km Mass Start Free, the best ever finish in an individual distance. Fordham was also a member of the women’s Team Sprint alongside Ellen Soehol Lie finishing 15th, the first time an Australian team has made a championship final.
 
The women’s 4x7.5km relay team featuring Fordham, Soehol Lie, Tuva Bygrave and Phoebe Cridland placed 12th, the best World Championship relay result  for an Australian team.
 
In the men’s event, the individual highlight was Lars Young Vik finishing 33rd in the men’s sprint, just missing the finals (top 30) by 0.21 of a second. No Australian has ever made the Sprint finals at the World Championships.
 
The men's relay team also finished 20th in team sprint and the 4x7.5km relay.
 
Full results below.
 
7.5km Classic Women’s (Qualification Event)

• Phoebe Cridland 4th (top-10 needed to qualify for individual)

 
7.5km Classic Men’s (Qualification Event)

• Liam Burton 24th

 
Sprint Free Women’s

• Rosie Fordham 44th
• Phoebe Cridland 55th
• Ellen Soehol Lie 57th
• Tuva Bygrave 60th

 
Sprint Free Men’s

• Lars Young Vik 33rd
• Phillip Bellingham 63rd
• Bentley Walker-Broose 65th
• Fedele De Campo 102nd

 
20km Skiathlon Classic/Free Women’s

• Rosie Fordham 38th
• Ellen Soehol Lie DNF
• Tuva Bygrave 51st

 
20km Skiathlon Classic/Free Men’s

• Bentley Walker-Broose 79th
• Phillip Bellingham 87th
• Fedele De Campo 90th

 
10km Interval Start Classic Women’s

• Rosie Fordham 37th
• Phoebe Cridland 41st
• Ellen Soehol Lie 42nd
• Tuva Bygrave 44th

 
10km Interval Start Classic Men’s

• Seve De Campo 52nd
• Lars Young Vik 75th

• Bentley Walker-Broose 83rd
• Fedele De Campo 88th
• Liam Burton 122nd

 
Team Sprint Classic Women’s

• Australia (Rosie Fordham & Ellen Soehol Lie) 15th

 
Team Sprint Classic Men’s

• Australia (Lars Young Vik & Seve De Campo) 20th

 
4 x 4.75km Relay Classic/Free Women’s

• Australia (Tuva Bygrave, Ellen Soehol Lie, Rosie Fordham, Phoebe Cridland) 12th

 
4 x 4.75km Relay Classic/Free Men’s

• Australia (Seve De Campo, Lars Young Vik, Bentley Walker-Broose, Fedele De Campo) 20th

50km Mass Start Free Women’s

• Rosie Fordham 20th
• Tuva Bygrave 32nd

 
50km Mass Start Free Men’s

• Seve De Campo 50th
• Phillip Bellingham 60th
• Bentley Walker-Broose 65th
• Fedele De Campo 70th

Congratulations to the athletes, their coaches, and staff together with Snow Australia and everyone in the Australian cross country skiing community on these outstanding results and a most successful championships.

The final World Cup event before the 2025 World Championships has taken place in Falun, Sweden, featuring events in sprint (Classic), 10km Interval Start Classic and 20km Mass Start Free.
 
The highlight was recent U23 World Championship medallist Rosie Fordham achieving her best World Cup result in the 20km Mass Start Free distance, finishing 35th.
 
Seve De Campo was the highest placed Australian male in all three events, finishing 69th in the sprint, 70th 10km and 66th 20km.
 
Next up is the 2025 FIS Cross Country World Championships, on February 26 to March 9 in Trondheim, Norway.
 
Result Summary

Women’s Sprint Classic
Tuva Bygrave – 53rd
Phoebe Cridland – 54th
Ellen Soehol Lie – 55th

Men’s Sprint Classic
Seve De Campo – 69th
Phillip Bellingham – 71st
Fedele De Campo – 75th
 
Women’s 10km Interval Start Classic
Rosie Fordham – 54th
Phoebe Cridland – 56th
Ellen Soehol Lie – 57th
Tuva Bygrave – 58th

Men’s 10km Interval Start Free
Seve De Campo – 70th
Phillip Bellingham – 75th
Bentely Walker-Broose – 84th
Fedele De Campo – 87th

Women’s 20km Mass Start Free
Rosie Fordham – 35th
Phoebe Cridland – 44th
Tuva Bygrave – 47th

Men’s 20km Mass Start Free
Seve De Campo – 66th
Phillip Bellingham – 69th
Bentely Walker-Broose – 74th
Fedele De Campo – DNF

In the history of international cross country skiing, no Australian athlete had ever finished on a major international podium.
 
Until now.
 
Rosie Fordham has written herself into Australian snowsports folklore with a second place finish at the U23 World Championships, taking the silver medal in the 10km Interval Start Free at Schilpario, Italy.
 
Starting 20th out of 74 athletes, Fordham was not one of the 15 seeded athletes but it was clear early on that something special was in the air.
 
As she passed the first interval at 3.33km, Fordham took 23 second lead over USA's Kendall Kramer, however as the seeded athletes continued to take their timechecks, the Australian remained on top.
 
It was not until Germany's Helen Hoffman - who started 12.5 minutes after Fordham - passed the first interval that Fordham was pushed into second place, just four seconds adrift.
 
Less than a minute after Hoffman took the provisional lead, Fordham passed the 6.67km checkpoint and was again in front, this time holding a 37 second advantage over Kramer.
 
Once again, higher-ranked athletes continued to pass the checkpoint but no one could surpass Fordham except for Hoffman who extended her advantage to 14 seconds.
 
Buoyed by support around the course and knowing she was having a career-best day, Fordham maintained the push through to the finish, stopping the clock at 33:02.1, 35 seconds clear at the front of the field.
Canada's Liliane Gagnon was nine seconds behind Fordham at the second interval, however when she crossed the line 12 seconds behind the Australian, a podium was all but confirmed. No one else bettered Fordham's time until Hoffman stormed up to victory, however it mattered little for the 22-year-old, for whom silver was tasted as sweet as gold.
 
"Oh my goodness, I can't believe that just happened," exclaimed Fordham post-race. "I was hoping for a top 10 on a good day and I was hearing the splits and I was like 'no way!' I can't believe it.
 
Fordham credited her performance to adherance to a game plan to start strong and see how long she could maintain the pace with the front-runners.
 
"I just went out hard, I always go out hard. This course was for me; it was big uphills it was terrible conditions, it was slow and that's what I love - just grinding hard out there."
 
The result was a big jump from Fordham's 40th place in the 10km Classic at the 2024 U23 World Championships in Slovenia, however there have been signs of her improvement at the highest level.
 
While Fordham only made her first World Cup appearances 12 months ago in Switzerland and the USA, she has featured in five World Cups already this season already scored three top 40 results in 10km races.
 
The World Cup season continues throughout February and March with stops in Sweden, Norway, Estonia and Finland, however the biggest competition of the 24/25 campaign will be the World Championships in Trondheim, Norway from 26 February to 9 March. 
 
Article Courtesy of Snow Australia

IMAGE by Tom Hoogenraad

The Cross Country Skiing World Cup tour was in Cogne, Italy, over the weekend, with Australian athletes competing in the team sprint, individual sprint and 10km interval start free events.
 
In the team sprint events, the Australia 1 men’s team of Hugo Hinckfuss and Lars Young Vik did well, finishing in 22nd place from a field of 34 teams, and the women’s team of Rosie Fordham and Tuva Bygrave were 19th from a field of 21.
 
Rosie Fordham the highest place individual finisher in 37th in the women’s 10km interval start free.
 
Fordham and Hinckfuss will remain in Italy for the Under 23 World Championships, taking place in Schilpario from February 3 to 9.
 
Result Summary
 
Women’s Team Sprint Classic
Rosie Fordham/Tuva Bygrave – 19th
 
Men’s Team Sprint Classic
Hugo Hinckfuss/Lars Young Vik – 22nd
Bentley Walker-Broose/Fedele De Campo 31st
 
Women’s Sprint Classic
Tuva Bygrave – 55th
Phoebe Cridland – 56th
 
Men’s Sprint Classic
Lars Young Vik – 48th
Hugo Hinckfuss – 57th
Fedele De Campo – 81st
 
Women’s 10km Interval Start Free
Rosie Fordham – 37th
Tuva Bygrave – 39th
Phoebe Cridland – 52nd
 
Men’s 10km Interval Start Free
Hugo Hinckfuss – 44th
Lars Young Vik – 68th
Bentley Walker-Broose – 73rd
Fedele De Campo – 78th

The first team sprint Cross Country Skiing World Cup events of the season have taken pace in Davos, Switzerland, with the Australian women’s team finishing 18th and the men’s team 29th.
 
In the women’s event Rosie Fordham and Ellen Soehol Lie teamed up, just missing the top-15 final in 18th place.
 
Seve De Campo and Lars Young Vik teamed up in the men’s event to finish in 29th place.
 
See below full summary of Australian results, with individual sprint and 20km events also taking place in Davos.
 
Team Sprint Women
18th Rosie Fordham and Ellen Soehol Lie

Team Sprint Men
29th Seve De Campo & Lars Young Vik

Women’s Individual Sprint
53rd Rosie Fordham
56th Ellen Soehol Lie

Men’s Individual Sprint
73rd Lars Young Vik
83rd Bentley Walker-Broose
84th Seve De Campo
 
Women’s 20km Classic
39th Rosie Fordham

Men’s 20km Classic
71st Seve De Campo
79th Bentley Walker-Broose

Australia’s Cross Country Skiers have competed in the latest World Cup event in Lillehammer, Norway, over the weekend.

The highlight was Rosie Fordham who achieved a personal best result of 33rd in the 10km (Free) event.

Summary of results

Women’s 10km Interval Start Free

• Rosie Fordham 33^rd

Men’s 10km Interval Start Free

• Seve De Campo 70th
• Lars Young Vik 74th
• Bentley Walker-Broose 79th

Women’s Sprint

• Ellen Soehol Lie 56th

Men’s Sprint

• Lars Young Vik 67th
• Seve De Campo 78th
• Bentley Walker-Broose 81st

Women’s 20km Skiathlon Classic/Free

• DSQ

Men’s 20km Skiathlon Classic/Free

• Seve De Campo 62nd
• Bentley Walker-Broose 68th

The FIS Cross Country Skiing season commenced over the weekend in Ruka, Finland, with Rosie Fordham, Seve de Campo and Bentley Walker-Broose all in action for Australia.

In the women’s 10km interval start, Rosie Fordham finished in 55th place, finishing in a time of 29 minutes 37 seconds, 4 minutes 20.8 second behind event winner Frida Karlsson of Sweden.
 
The men’s 10km interval start saw Seve de Campo in 66th (time of 25 minutes 33.3 seconds) and Bentley Walker-Broose in 82nd time of 27 minutes, 11.5 seconds), with Livo Niskanen of Finland taking the win on home soil in a time of 23 minutes and 0.6 seconds.
 
The tour now heads to Lillehammer, Norway for the next round of World Cup competition.